Ensure all the mixture is nicely combined. Scrape sides and mix for a little longer, if necessary. Gently lift off the butterly and tap on the inside of the bowl to shake off excess batter.

Pour into a lined baking tray (approx. 20 x 25 cm) and bake for 20-25 minutes / 190 degs or 180 degs f/forced, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes up almost clean.

Leave to cool on a wire rack, then cut into about 30 or so squares.

My quick and simple coating:

Melt about 200g dark chocolate with a good couple of heaped tablespoons of coconut oil. I prefer to do this in a glass bowl over a simmering pot of water, rather than using the Thermomix for this. That way, you can keep the chocolate tempering while you dip in each sponge square.

Have your tub of desiccated coconut handy, with a little sprinkled on a plate to set your coated sponge down on. I find it easier to have one chocolatey hand, with the other for dipping into the coconut to sprinkle over all sides of the chocolate sponge. That way, the coconut doesn’t get all congealed and ‘chocolatified’.

Set onto a large tray lined with baking paper to allow the chocolate to harden.

Well, I’ve had this pumpkin slice on the go for some weeks, so much so, I can’t remember where I got the original idea from. I think an American site somewhere. Anyway, I’ve just had to tweak and refine it a little more, but the family love it, even with my toned down sweetness. Add extra sweetener to taste, if you think you need it. Make it nut-free by using rice milk and coconut oil. For a grain-free idea, see tips at the end.

Mill 1 minute / speed 9:

210g grains – I use a mix of brown rice+millet+jowar+buckwheat – use all rice, if you wish!

Add and sift 6 seconds / speed 6:

60g potato starch

30g tapioca starch/flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Generous pinch salt

Set aside

Mill 10 seconds / speed 9:

100g chopped dates (or medjool, if you prefer)

add in about 50g of the flour mix – makes for a finer mill of the dates

Set this aside with the rest of the flour mix

Add and blend 20 seconds / speed 6:

600g butternut pumpkin puree* (sweet potato would be good too)

50-80g maple or rice syrup, depending on where you are on the sweetness scale! For us, less is more …

120g almond milk

70g almond oil (or macadamia/coconut oil)

Add and blend 10 seconds / speed 5:

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla vanilla/extract

Add and blend 15 seconds / speed 5, using spatula:

300g gf flour and 100g date mix

60g cocoa powder

Give the mixture a good manual mix with the TM spatula

Pour into a lined brownie tin

Bake at 175degs f/f 30-35 minutes (test if cooked, using a skewer in the middle and if it comes out almost clean, you’re done! Gently pull away the greaseproof and cool on a wire rack.

Whizz up a few times until smooth on speed 3-4, scraping down the sides of the bowl in between times:

1 large and very ripe avocado, de-skinned and de-stoned

1/2 cup cocoa powder (sorry, forgot to measure in grams)

1/2 cup maple syrup (ditto)

Tips:

* If you have frozen pumpkin puree in ice cube blocks, throw them into the TM bowl and heat 5 minutes / 37 degs / speed 2 to defrost and then proceed with adding the remaining wet ingredients and blending.

For a grain-free alternative:

Mill 130g buckwheat and add 20g tapioca flour and 50g coconut flour + the other dry ingredients and sift. Also add an extra egg or you could try 1-2 portions chia gel.

In the grain free version that I’ve subsequently tried, I used some orange purée instead of pumpkin purée and found I had to cook for an extra 15 minutes. This may have been due to the fact that I baked it in a loaf tin as well. Just use a skewer inserted in the centre to test and add extra cooking time in 5 minute increments, as required. Even if there’s still a little ‘moistness’ on the tip of your skewer – this is fine. It just adds a bit of a fudgey texture.

Now we love Quirky Cooking’s raw vegan chocolate mousse, which is my quick ‘go to’ dessert that always hits the spot. This Chocolate Mousse Pudding, however, needs to be prepared a little ahead of time and refrigerated to form a rich and dense mousse. It’s one that I adapted from a recipe I spotted on the back of a pack, then added my own variations and thermified. You can add as little or more sweetener to suit your taste-buds. See tips for nut and grain-free options at the end.

Grind for 1 minute / speed 9:

50g brown rice

Peel of one orange, without the white pith (I use a vegetable peeler) – optional, but it adds a lovely jaffa flavour

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add and then set to cook for 7 minutes / speed 4 / 90 degs:

50g dates and a big squirt of maple or rice syrup – add more to taste. You could even add a banana for extra sweetness, if you wanted to

1 tsp vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp vanilla powder

Pinch salt

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add and cook for another 1 minute / speed 4 / 90 degs:

80g dark chocolate, broken up into chunks (I’ve tried both 70% and 85% – the latter will add more of a bitter taste),

Ensure all the mixture is combined , taste for sweetness and blend in more maple or rice syrup, if necessary, then pour into sundae glasses.

Cover and refrigerate until solidified and ‘moussey’.

Tips:

Instead of sundae glasses, you could also use jelly moulds, then tip out onto a plate, once solidified, and sprinkle with dessicated coconut and decorate with a strawberry or raspberry. This is especially good if you’ve had a ‘skin’ develop on top of the mousse while cooling in the fridge.

Alternatively, add more milk in the second step and serve straightaway as a hot chocolate custard.

I make a lot of almond milk, so have a constant supply of left-over almond pulp. Of late, I’ve been saving this up and then dehydrating. So, for a grain-free option, use the dehydrated almond pulp and mill this into a flour with the orange peel in step one.

For a nut and grain-free option, use coconut milk instead of almond milk and use tapioca or arrowroot flour to thicken (I haven’t tried and tested this method yet though)

Who likes a good dumpling? A nice fluffy gluten and dairy free one, at that?

Well these are lovely with a chunky beef chilli or any kind of stew! This mixture makes about 8 or 9, so double the ingredients for a larger batch! There is also a grain-free version, which makes about 6 – see end of post.

Well, you’re either going to be in the “eew” or “hmm, sounds interesting” camp on this one. Don’t be put off by the banana skin factor or think it’s too much trouble, because it is worth doing, even to get a reaction from people – after they’ve eaten it!!! Hehe. Anyway, the biggest job is being patient whilst your skins soak.

Of course, I never like to pass up the opportunity of using up what would otherwise become waste, so I promptly stripped my slightly browning bananas, topped and tailed the skins and set them in water to soak – for 3-4 days. Meanwhile, the “edible” part of the bananas went into the freezer ready to be whizzed and whipped into a creamy whip at some stage. Well, actually a banana nut ice cream …

Anyway, after several changes of water over the course of 3-4 days, I drained and rinsed the skins and in they went to the TM bowl and this is how it goes:

Top and tail your banana skins. Leave them to soak in water for 3 days, changing the water periodically, until they become soft and the water is clear. Two days may even be enough:

3-4 organic banana skins (I used 4)

Water to cover

After a few days, process 20 seconds / speed 9:

soaked banana skins

80g water

Meanwhile, line a small round cake tin with baking parchment. This recipe also makes about 8 muffins/cup-cakes

Strain the mixture through a sieve. Extract any stray pulp fibres and discard. You’ll end up with about 1 cup of, or 250g purée, and a smaller amount of liquid, about 140g. Keep this liquid for later to make an icing, though you won’t need all of it. Throw the rest into a smoothie, or something!

Note, before wetting your bowl, make sure you have your gluten or grain-free flour ready, by milling the necessary grains or non-grains at this point. You could try my gluten free flour blend or this grain-free flour mix:

For grain-free, while the bowl is dry, mill 30 seconds / speed 9:

50g buckwheat

20g linseeds

Add and mill 10 seconds / speed 9:

80g almonds – for nut free, try sunflower/pumpkin seeds OR

In lieu of the almonds/seeds, you could try 25g coconut flour, but add an extra egg

Whiz up briefly to achieve a smoother texture, scrape down the bowl sides and lid and pour the icing over the cake. Sprinkle with some desiccated coconut or chopped nuts for decoration – or whatever takes your fancy!

I’ve made these muffins a few times recently and even took one along to a lady I meet when I’m out walking. It was her 77th birthday earlier in the week and I just wanted to drop something by her place as a token of appreciation for making me laugh whenever I see her! I don’t ‘do’ cards; my preferred method being a Thermie made item, so a jolly Caribbean Treat seemed just the ticket! Here’s the recipe for this moist and moreish muffin. Tastes just fine without a topping, but even yummier with some cashew cream …

For the original recipe PDF that I tweaked and ‘thermified’, type into google: “Caribbean Treat Muffins – Let’s Get Cooking‎”. I’ve tried posting a link, but it doesn’t work …

Weigh in and set to closed lid / interval position / 15 seconds, until blended in:

50g sultanas

Plop the mixture into muffin cases and bake for approximately 20-25 mins,200 deg / 180 ff. Check that they’re cooked by poking a skewer into the centre – it should come out almost clean when the muffins are done.

Instead of whole eggs, I have also been known to use 3 egg whites and/or 1 tbs ground linseeds soaked in 3 tbs hot water for 5 minutes. You could do the same with chia seeds as an egg replacement too.

Replace the pineapple with 220g apples – whizz up for 10 seconds / speed 8, add a couple of tablespoons of water and cook at 90deg / 8 minutes / speed 2

For a grain-free version, substitute the gluten free flour for almond flour. You could also try coconut flour – say 80g and use 3-4 eggs. I haven’t tried this though! If you try it, let me know how it goes!